Nelson Peltz's activist fund Trian Partners takes 'significant position' in U.K. pest control firm Rentokil

By Louis Goss

Rentokil Initial shares surged by up to 16% on Wednesday as Nelson Peltz' activist hedge fund Trian Partners confirmed it had acquired a "significant position" in the British pest control company.

Trian Partners has bought a stake of an undisclosed size, making it one of Rentokil's ten largest shareholders, the activist fund, which was started by Peltz in 2005, confirmed to MarketWatch.

"Trian also confirms it has reached out to Rentokil to discuss ideas and initiatives to improve shareholder value. Trian looks forward to working with Rentokil's leadership team," a spokesperson for the hedge fund added.

Shares in Rentokil Initial (UK:RTO) were up 13% later on Wednesday morning in London, having lost 27% of their value over the past 12 months, following a sharp drop in October on concerns about its North American business.

Trian Partners, which is known for its activist campaigns against top companies including Heinz, DuPont and Disney, did not disclose the size of its stake in Rentokil.

Rentokil told MarketWatch that it will not be publishing a statement on the London Stock Exchange as the pest control company has "not been informed of a holding above 3%."

All acquisitions of stakes in U.K. listed companies of more than 3% must be declared via statements published on the London Stock Exchange.

Trian Partners, which was started by Peltz, Peter May, and Ed Garden in 2005, had around $7 billion in assets under management in 2023, 13-F filings show

Rentokil was first started by British entomologist Harold Maxwell-Lefroy in 1925, while he was still a professor at Imperial College London, information from the company shows.

The Crawley-headquartered company, which was formed to sell a pesticide developed to kill beetles in the U.K.'s Houses of Parliament, later listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1969.

Maxwell-Lefroy later died in 1925 in an accident in his laboratory involving poisonous gases used to control houseflies.

In October 2022, Rentokil acquired Tennessee headquartered pest control company Terminix for around GBP4.5 billion, turning it into the world's largest pest control firm.

Rentokil warned a year later, in October 2023, that a slowdown in the North American economy would see its growth slow, in a trading update that saw its share price drop more than a fifth.

In the financial year 2023, Rentokil generated GBP5.4 billion in revenue and GBP493 million in pre-tax profits, the company's annual report shows.

-Louis Goss

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06-12-24 0616ET

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